Prison Ministry

The team returned today reporting that they were not allowed into the prison for ministry.  Red eye (the local name for pink eye) has been turning up in some of the schools.  It is also in the Koboko main (Gbukutu) prison.  I appreciate the staff’s concern for the health of our team members, although I wish we could have continued the ministry this week.  We will try again next week.

Meanwhile, we will use our contact information to check on the other prison we serve.  They are much smaller and frequently do not experience the health issues of the larger prisons.

Prison Ministry Meeting

The prison ministry team meeting is getting small again.  I expected more people to be available during the school holidays, but attendance indicates fewer are available.  One did return.  However, several are missing.

Today we finished our study of the Gospel of Mark.  When we started, we planned to just start over, to recall what we studied 93 weeks ago (we take it in small pieces, so we have time to translate and still talk about it).  Now we have changed the plan; we will begin a study of the Gospel of Matthew.  Still studying the good news, still focused on sharing the good news to the prisoners.

Prison Ministry

The ministry must be doing a good thing, because it is under attack from the evil one.  He is using other programs at Padombu to try and gain access to the ministry materials so the team there will be ill equipped to do the ministry at Lobule Prison.

He is also prompting one of our long absent members to return and serve – with an attitude of independence that does not respect the rules the ministry must follow if we are to continue to be allowed in the prison.  We discussed it at this week’s meeting and the team members agreed to follow the rules.  Unfortunately, the one causing the problem chose to stay away after he was contacted about the issue, instead of becoming part of the solution.

The ministry team, with this one-member exception, is committed to follow the rules and focus on the ministry.

Prison Ministry

The prison ministry team that meets at Padombu asked me to provide a two-person team for ministry at Lobule prison this week because they are students and it is time for the first term exams.  The new pastor at St. John Birijaku has mentioned on a couple of occasions that he wanted to join the ministry in Lobule; he is from that area. 

We went and found that several prisoners have been recently transferred to Lobule prison, tripling the prison population.  They were happy to receive us. 

One of the prisoners was trying to translate to Lugbara for me, but he was struggling.  Pastor eventually took the role.  Many of the terms of the gospel are not part of everyday conversation, especially since we are discussing Mark chapter 16 and resurrection.

Transferred

The deputy officer-in-charge of the local prison has been transferred.  She has been a great contact point for the prison ministry.  She also appreciated what the ministry does and how we kept in contact with the prison administration during the CoVid lockdown.  From the sound of it, we may have been the only ministry that did.

The officer-in-charge of the local prison has changed far more frequently.  Some have been great to work with.  Others are more administrative and have delegated us to the deputy to handle.  One served the local prison for two years before transfer, another was just six months; however, the average for an officer-in-charge seems to be one year.

Other staff members, know who we are, have talked about the ministry with the new officer-in-charge.  I expect the same thing will happen when the new deputy arrives.  This is the first time the deputy has been changed in four years, but it shows why our developing a relationship with the staff, not just an individual is important.  It also highlights the reason we need the letter of permission from prison headquarters (mentioned in previous posts).

Padombu PMT

The unofficial leader of the prison ministry team (PMT) at Padombu called me to make sure I was coming for the team meeting / bible study.  I join them every other week to maintain contact between the teams and to provide them with copies of the study material.

When I arrived with one other member of the Birijaku PMT, we were met by the team member who is on the staff at Padombu Secondary School.  He sent word to the Scripture Union leader and the team members that we had arrived.  One team member came to talk with us about coordinating the ministry for Lobule Prison since they are about to enter the time of exams.  Afterwards, he explained that the rest of the team would arrive late (which could be anything from 10 minutes to 2 hours later) because most of them are prefects and the prefects were still in their meeting.  This is why I want to coordinate things between the two teams, so we can cover for each other and keep the ministry serving God.

Prison Ministry

I was checking WhatsApp for updates a few hours before our prison team meeting.  I have been using this method to check in with the head of spiritual affairs for all Ugandan Prisons.  It has been a few weeks, so I inquired about the permission letters from prison headquarters again.  There has been a recent change in the Officer-in-Charge at one of the prisons and when I met him, he inquired about our letter.  I mentioned this.

I received an unusually quick reply.  We cannot find your file; can you send me a copy on WhatsApp.  At least I did not have to take a day to travel to Kampala, and another day to come back – along with the expense.  I scanned and sent both requests (one per prison) along with the copy I received with their mark showing it was received at prison headquarters.  Maybe they were working on it; maybe it was lost five months ago, and I received various explanations while they looked for it.  I do not know.  My re-send was acknowledged with a phone call requesting a new cover letter with the current date.  I was also told, ‘Do not give up, we need your ministry in that area.  Have you considered expanding to other districts.  Maybe you [will want to] request permission for that too in your new letter.’

John Lee

My friend, John Lee, just passed away.  He had some health issues, but I had hoped he would have some form of quality life with us for a few more years.

I met John Lee through Kairos Monroe.  We served on several prison ministry weekend teams together.  We were both part of the continuing ministry at Monroe too. 

During the Kairos weekend that he led, he shared a story.  I think it was a favorite of his because I heard him tell it to the participants (prisoners and those of us on the team) twice.  I also heard him tell it twice to me in personal meetings.  I will try to retell it in his memory.

He began by explaining he grew up as a missionary kid in Southeast Asia, Thailand if I remember correctly.  People would raise their crops on the family farms out in the countryside.  Then they had to bundle up what they had and make the trek to town or the city.  He described the city as being a long way away, 100 km.  It set the image; however, a person cannot walk 100 km in a day, let alone go, sell produce, and return.  There was a railroad next to the dirt road the farmer was using to reach the city.  A train pulled up next to him and the conductor asked him if he wanted a ride.  The farmer said he did not have the fare.  The conductor told him the seats were comfortable, the train was pleasantly cool, a respite from the hot sunshine he was walking in, and he could have cold water to drink.

Again, the farmer said he did not have the fare.  The conductor said he would let him ride in exchange for the load he was carrying.  He thought about it and was about to pass when the conductor mentioned the comfortable seats and the cold water again.  He thought some more and then gave the load to the conductor. 

As the train started to move, he settled into a seat.  It was a soft fabric and well padded.  The conductor personally brought a tall glass of ice water to him and told him lunch would be served shortly.  As he got comfortable, he saw the conductor throw the load he had given off the train, but it did not bother him.  He was going to sell it anyway and now he was on the train.

So give your burden to Jesus and get on the train.

John told this to remind us to trust Jesus, and let Jesus share our load.  However, today I think there may be a spiritual element too.  John Lee gave up his earthly load and got on the train to heaven.

John, you are missed.

Prison Ministry

I have been allowing other members of the prison ministry to fill the two-member team that visits the prison each week.  I want them to know that they are equal members of the team and they do not have to defer to me because I am a foreigner. However, I do take a turn on a regular basis.

The number of prisoners attending the bible study has gone up (almost double), just as the Deputy Officer-in-Charge predicted.  We are just over 10% of the male prisoner population.  We were over 30% before most of our regular attendees were transferred to other prisons or released.  She said the new prisoners will come after they hear from the others what is available. It is beginning to happen.

As we were leaving, the prisoners asked if we could bring more Bibles.

Bible Study

I was encouraged to hear several members of the prison ministry team talking about our bible study.  We study the passage we plan to share in the prison that week so that those who will be presenting can practice working with the notes and how they want to present.  One team member was saying, and others were agreeing that our bible study is easy to follow.  Others they have encountered were more difficult.  They did not say what made the others more difficult.  We did talk about how this one was developed (so they can share it, and the process, with others).  We also talked about why our study in the Gospel of Mark starts each study with a summary of recently discussed verses, to build the complete story, and appreciate the continuity of the Gospel.